FOLLOWING a successful performance at last year’s Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa) which saw the show being sold out for three days, Coming to Zimbabwe will make a return to Africa, showcasing at Reps Theatre before proceeding to other countries in the region.
By Entertainment Reporter The show which was inspired by Los Angeles theatre director James Carey’s visit to the country in 2012 to work with schoolchildren and teach drama classes will open on the Valentines to run for three days.
Carey wrote his overwhelming and adventurous experiences down, and adapted this for the stage as a one hander.
In an interview with NewsDay, Carey said he came to the country at a time his life was crumbling.
“Back home, my life was falling apart, I had almost lost my job and my house and my business was on the low,” he said.
“It was at this time when the National Institute of Allied Arts (NIAA) invited me to adjudicate at their festival.
“It was my first time to come to this country and I fell in love with it.”
He said his one-month stay reenergised him.
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“Working with children energised me, I connected with my roots and I was reminded of the reason why I got into theatre in the first place,” he said.
After the sold-out Hifa shows, Carey was invited by Reps Theatre to stay behind and do three more shows which were also sold out.
Now, almost a year later, Carey has once again returned to Africa to do a short tour of Southern Africa which will see him perform in Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa.
He said Coming to Zimbabwe is a touching and heart-warming true story of one man’s journey of self-discovery and renewal as working with school children in Zimbabwe led to the questioning we all must experience at some point in our lives.
“I think many people can relate and I hope they will come and get just that,” Carey said.
